"Legacy, that’s a pretty name." She knelt down. "Hello, Legacy. Thank you for being my friend."
He opened the half-gate and stepped into the stall. "Are you doing okay? You sounded pretty sad."
She stared at him with a point blank look before she held up her little finger. "Pinkie swear that you won't tell my mom about anything I told the h... Legacy."
She was so serious that he almost laughed, but Tyson could see the determination in her eyes. He hooked his little finger with her tiny one and promised. What he knew from hearing her, he could guide the conversation and drag the same information out of her mother. Tyson felt a crack in his heart seal up just a little bit as Londyn squeezed his finger with her own. He knew he shouldn't get attached to her, but that was going to be difficult no matter what.
"There. We're pinkie promised so you can't go back on it. You have to always keep the secret."
"I will. It's a very solemn promise." He tried to beat around the bush about her father. "So, I guess your father is a busy man."
"Always."
"You and your mom just do your own thing?"
"You can just ask me what you want to know." She was on to him. He sat down on a bale of hay, and she sat next to him. Legacy stood and stretched and nibbled on his grain. "My daddy is a mean man. He hates me, but he's okay with my brother."
"Why do you think that is?" Tyson couldn't imagine anyone loving one child over another.
"Because he's a boy. That's what Mommy thinks. I heard them fighting about it."
"Do they fight a lot?" He quickly learned that just being straight up with her was the best route. She was a really smart kid.
"Not always, because Mommy is afraid she'll get hurt and then not be able to take care of me."
"Hurt?" Fury burned in his veins. "Your father hurts her?" He felt like a heel asking a child, but anger forced the words out.
"She's already been in the hospital once because of him. He pushed her down the stairs on purpose. He told the ambulance people that it was an accident, but it wasn't. I heard them fighting, and she begged him not to throw her down the stairs but he did anyway. I didn't tell anyone though."
"Where were you?" His hatred for a man he'd never met increased exponentially.
"I have a hiding place under the stairs. Mommy makes sure that we keep a lot of lights and food in there just in case I need to hide like I did that day. Daddy doesn't know about it. When he came home in a mood, Mommy made me hide in my room until she got him in another part of the house so I could get to our hiding spot. He didn't even know I was home because he thought I was at school, but it was a half day."
Tyson ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How in the world had Valerie gotten herself into a mess like this? And how could a six year old be so calm about it?
"I just stay away from him as much as I can," Londyn continued. "He's not home a lot, so that makes it easier."
"And then you two ran away and came here?"
She shook her head. "Mommy said that you could help us. We would never go back, but Daddy took bubby away and Mommy couldn't find him."
"How old is your brother?"
"Almost four, but I don't get to play with him much because Daddy says I'm not like him."
"What does he mean by that?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever it is, Daddy says that bubby needs to be with him. And he knows it makes Mommy sad when he takes him away." Londyn leaned over and whispered. "Daddy just likes him more and he told me once that he's afraid I'll make my brother stupid if we're together too much. But I'm not stupid."
"You definitely are not stupid at all." Without realizing he was going to do it, Tyson scooped Londyn up into a hug. He held her frail little body in a tight embrace and vowed to protect her. "Your daddy has it all wrong. You're supposed to love all your kids just the same, whether they're a boy or a girl, older or younger, skinny or fat. It shouldn't matter."
"Me and bubby are both skinny," Londyn giggled as she hugged him back. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he thought his heart was going to burst.
Tyson's mind whirled. Nothing about this whole situation made sense. This is what Valerie had left him for? And could a supposed man really prefer one of his own children over another? He and Valerie had a lot to chat about very soon. He still wasn't exactly sure what she thought he could help her with, although he was more than ready to volunteer to go kick her husband's ass.
Londyn finally wiggled away and walked over to Legacy. "Can I ride him?"
"Someday. But we have smaller horses for you to practice on first. Legacy isn't used to kids, especially those who have never ridden before, so I'm not sure how he'll act." Tyson chuckled to himself. He had never expected Legacy to be a therapy horse either, yet the big guy had cuddled right down on the floor like a big dog.
